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Standards work on the Web: the ISO solutions
ISBN 978-92-67-10493-5
(C) ISO 2009.
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Foreword

I am very happy to contribute the Foreword to this latest important addition to the range of ISO guidance documents produced in particular for our members in developing countries. These guid-ance documents include My ISO job, Joining in and Fast forward.This latest addition is intended to be of use to managers of national standards bodies (NSBs), whether they are responsible for the implementation of information and communication technology
(ICT) strategies within their organizations, or for other aspects relating to the use of ICT tools. To that end, I strongly encourage the CEOs of all ISO members to ensure that the recommendations
contained in this manual receive their personal attention. I am well aware from my numerous visits during my tenure as Sec-retary-General that while ISO members are in a constant state of

evolution, they are also at different stages of development when it comes to their ICT infrastructures. This manual is intended to be of use to all NSBs, whatever their current level of development.

In order to participate in international standardization and to pro-vide effective services to stakeholders and experts at the national and regional levels, ISO members have been obliged to modernize their infrastructures at an ever-increasing rate – a rate explained by Moore’s famous law which describes a long-term trend whereby the capabilities of digital electrical devices are rising exponentially, doubling every two years. They also need  to provide as seamless as possible ICT solutions to support collective standards develop-ment work at the national, sometimes regional, and increasingly international levels.
The vast majority of ISO members are from developing countries and play a crucial role in ensuring the global relevance of Inter-national Standards. We have seen from our own surveys that
ISO members have expended an enormous amount of energy in upgrading their infrastructures since the first version of this publication in 2001. Over the past seven years, many of us have
become used to the ubiquity of computers, e-mail and the Inter-net in our professional and private lives.At the same time, one of the key roles of the ISO Central Secre-tariat is the provision of new electronic tools and services which will facilitate communication between all parties involved in inter-national standardization, and, in particular, those involved in the development of International Standards. These tools should be effective, easy-to-use and intuitive for those individuals through-out the ISO system with specific roles in the development of International Standards. I am sure that this manual will provide invaluable guidance for ISO members in presenting them with the ISO solutions to develop-ing standards and communicating within the ISO community in the Internet Age.